Ask people what is the exact opposite (the polar opposite) of “love” and you will almost always hear “hate”. But this is not the truth. The exact opposite of love is actually … P R I D E! Allow me to explain.God’s 10 Commandments are 10 specific commands for us to love. In other words, EACH Commandment is just PART of the definition of love, and together the 10 Commandments reveal the FULL PICTURE of love. This is why Paul wrote: “For this, (#7) Thou shalt not commit adultery, (#6) Thou shalt not murder, (#8) Thou shalt not steal, (#9) Thou shalt not bear false witness, (#10) Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment (yes, the other 5!), it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the FULFILLING (KEEPING) of the LAW” (Romans 13:10).
With this in mind, the Apostle John expounded on Commandment #6: “Whosoever HATES his brother is a MUDERER: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him:” (I John 3:15). See, “hatred” is just ONE PART of the “opposite of love” – specifically, it's disobedience to the 6th Love Commandment. Therefore, saying “hate” is the opposite of love is on par with saying “stealing” is the opposite of love, or “lying” is the opposite of love. Do you understand? Yes, they are opposite of love, but they are just each PART of the opposite of love!
So, again, what is the EXACT opposite of love? Or the POLAR opposite of Love? Pride, my friend … PR - I - DE! The root reason someone disobeys one of God’s 10 Love Commandments (10LC) is because of their own selfish (prideful) lusts. PRIDE always manifests in 10LC BREAKING (hatred, covetousness, lying, stealing, etc.) and LOVE always manifests in 10LC KEEPING (forgiveness, contentment, truth, giving, etc). Yes, let it be forever understood … PRIDE and LOVE are exact opposites!
Visit Website: 10LoveCommandments.com
In Christ’s love,
Gabriel
Approximately 818 Weeks (Sabbaths) Remaining Till Christ's Return!
Thank you for shedding light on this subject brother. A very common misconception!!! I hear it regularly. Everyone needs to know this wisdom and I've been trying my best to correct this every chance I get, whenever it comes up in conversation. I encourage you all to do likewise and correct this also whenever you can. In my experience (haven't known this for that long) I've found that people are shocked to learn this fact and would think for a bit and agree. No one so far has disputed it because it is very logical. An extremely important piece of knowledge and a great conversation starter! Spread the news my brothers and sisters! :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed and restful Sabbath everyone!
Amen, brother ... This truth is "An extremely important piece of KNOWLEDGE"! God warned us through the prophet Hosea: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee ... seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God" (Hosea 4:6).
DeleteListen, Satan does NOT want a person to take the time to learn enlightened truths! For if they do, they become more aware of the sin in their life (and how ugly it is!) and may then want to do something about it ... meaning they may then want to remember God's law (of love) and do it.
For example, Eve didn't fully understand that Luc-I-fer was really just enticing her pride in the Garden of Eden, when he was telling her she could be this, or have this or that, without obeying God's Word (instructions)! If she would have understood the folly of Satan's lies, she may have had reason to respond differently.
Today, understanding the core truth that PRIDE (manifested through greed) is the root of ALL evil is a TREMENDOUS piece of KNOWLEDGE that can help a person NOT PERISH (meaning obtain eternal life! This truth allows a person to see the full ugliness behind the evil they may or may not be doing in their life. Like when a person is driving slow in front of you, and you want to run them over ... it's just your pride in full bloom, shown through "impatience". And it is sin for it is NOT love! Or, when you tell a lie, it is ALWAYS for your own personal gain or advantage, meaning it is just your pride in full bloom again! Oh, the examples are many!
So, when you can step back in your daily life, and see it's just your pride making you behave wickedly (meaning making you NOT keep God's Law of love) ... it should make it easier for you to say, "I don't want to be like this!" And when that attitude happens ... Satan look out! For then you will get down to business resisting the devil and fighting your pride, which means you are now working on becoming humble, which means you are now working on following God's Law, which means you are now becoming more loving, which means you are now working on pleasing God, which means you are now "working out your own salvation", which means you are now working on obtaining eternal life!
Glory to God, forever! Hallelujah!
Gabriel. Was hoping you would write a blog on the Newtown shootings. I can't understand how my Lord could let this happen. Still not sleeping. Please help. Thank you Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteJust a question about this though, I agree that Pride is a major hindrance to Love, but does 1 John 18 not specifically state that Fear is the opposite of Love? And is Pride not a manifestation of fear (fear of losing ones authority)?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Justin! And good thinking!
DeleteThe word "fear" is a different animal then the word "pride" in the Bible. It can actually be used in a "good" sense, as in the "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom. But of course it can also be used in a bad sense, as in I John 4:18. The word "pride" is ONLY used in the bad sense in God's Word.
John's verse is not stating "fear" is the OPPOSITE of love, but merely that where perfect love (God) dwells there is no "bad" kind of fear possible. It could also be stated that where perfect love (God) dwells there is no sorrow, or death, or work!
Here's the deal ... sorrow, fear, work, & death are the result of a person's spirit being "seperated from God", which is what sin has done to us all. In other words, these are the things WE ALL SUFFER from on this Earth because we have not achieved the FINAL REDEMPTION of our souls, where we will be connected back to God in perfect harmony, achieving eternal life. It is only THEN that a person will experience no more of the bad kind of fear, because they will dwell in perfect love, as John is stating.
Listen, it wasn't "fear" that motivated the first sinner, Satan, to sin ... it was PRIDE! He wasn't in fear of losing his authority or anything of the such ... he just WANTED MORE AUTHORITY, he wanted to be God!! It also wasn't "fear" that motivated Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, it too was PRIDE, which Satan stroked in her!
Please, I encourage you to visit 10LoveCommandments.com and read through each of the 10 Commandments short summaries and you will be highly enlightened to the fact that it is PRIDE that is not just a "major hindrance" to love, but THE hindrance to love!
May God anoint your understanding. God bless!